Tag Archive: Vienna

Off the plane, back on European soil and it’s cold. BLOODY cold. The average daily temperatures here are circa 3 degrees Celsius. Vienna is our starting point for the European tour on the way home. Our main reason for being here is to visit Pete & Bini – the overlanders we had become friends with while on the road. The first thing I notice is how grandiose the place is and the speed and pace at which that everything gets done. People walk faster, traffic lights are obeyed and everything is extremely expensive.

We shuffled about Vienna like Michelin men, smothered in hats, gloves, woolly socks and warm clothes. The miserable weather taking its toll on my body and Africa on my mind. My golden tan is already fading! I have so many stories to tell now, of far away lands, but they seem meaningless. Who cares if I saw desert Elephants? or the biggest mud structure known to man? I find myself at odds with these people. I struggle with my confusing thoughts. I don’t want to be here but I want to see my friends from Africa. We walk about town to look at the this and that building. I find myself at an opera. This could not be more different and a world apart from where I have just come. Vienna is a very beautiful city but, sadly, I see no black faces.

We finally find ourselves on a train platform in front of Pete & Bini laughing and giggling at the strangeness of seeing them in Austria. They immediately took us to their lake and opened a bottle of champagne. August, the truck we know so well is still there and in good stead. We spend the next few days drinking and eating the best the Austria has to offer. From Sturm to Wurst we are constantly stuffed. We talked Africa for the weekend. The ins and outs. They were the tonic I needed. For this I feel better. They have adjusted to life again at home but travel is still in the back of their minds – like ours. We agree to meet again, maybe in Morocco, in our own over-landing car or truck.

No it's not a rock - this is "Art"!!!

We part company and head back to Vienna and tomorrow we head for Northern Italy where hopefully the weather picks up. My nose is protesting and my bones feel cold!